"It's a big drop but far from satisfactory for some patients," a doctor in Beijing-based You'an Hospital said.

"A patient needs to pay around 2,000-3,000 yuan (US$240-361) per month, and the average monthly expenditure is above 10,000 yuan (US$1,204) before the price cut," said the doctor, who preferred to be named as Wu only.

Compared with the present income level of farmers and workers with AIDS, the cost of treatment even after the price cut is still not affordable, Wu said.

Earlier this month, the State Development Planning Commission (SDPC) decided to cut the price of three AIDS prevention drugs imported from the United States and Australia. The commission is authorized by the State Council to regulate pricing.

The drugs included Indinazir and Stonin made by the United States and a drug which is combined by AZT and 3TC imported from Australia.

Retail price of two kinds of Indinazir have been cut to 570 (US$68) yuan and 1,100 yuan (US$132) per bottle. Every bottle of Stonin and combined drug has been priced at 990 yuan (US$119) and 1,800 yuan (US$217) since February 10.

An official with the commission said the price cuts were the result of tough negotiations with foreign AIDS drug companies.

"Further negotiations with other foreign companies are in full swing and price cuts on more AIDS drugs are possible," the official said on the condition of anonymity.

But the official didn't reveal which foreign companies have been involved in the negotiations.

China imports more than a dozen kinds of AIDS drugs from other countries.

Apart from price cuts, Wu, who works in one of the best hospitals in the country for AIDS treatment, said China should manufacture AIDS prevention drugs as soon as possible.

"That's the unanimous call from hospitals because our own products can really lessen the burden on our patients," said Wu.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has allowed its members to make AIDS prevention medicines by copying other countries' production during the transitional period, though the drugs are still under the protection of Intellectual Property Rights, Wu said.

According to Wu, the average AIDS patient's medical expenditure in Brazil and India is about US$50 per month because the two countries have produced their own AIDS drugs under the protection of WTO rules.

Chinese medical experts have estimated that about 600,000 people in the country had been infected with the fatal illness by the end of last year, an increase of 60-70 per cent annually over the last few years, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

(China Daily February 26, 2002)